Multiple-unit chuck.



L. W. DOWNES.

MULTIPLE UNIT CHUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31, 1911. 1,036,971 Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

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MULTIPLE UNIT CHUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 31.1911.

1,036,977. Patented Aug. 27, 191.2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEicE.

i swine-ducs t man Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

'Ap'pnomm ma .my si, '1911; sancire.- 641,501.

To-aZZ' 'whom it may concern Be i-t known that I, Loms W. Bowness. of Irovidence, Rhode Island,Y have invented new and useful Improvements in- MultipleA Unit Chucks, which invention is ully set forth in the following specification'.

This invention relates to improvements in magnetic chucks for holding magnetic material while undergoing machining operationssuch as grinding. andhas for its' object' to provide a multiple unit chock adapted for holding.' comparatively large pieces. of

work and which may be built ulp to any suitable dimension for the" porticulem work` required by assembling and coupling together single units of convenient size,I weight amd.' slim-pe` for hand-ling.I

Certain kinds o' machining operations heretofore: performed en large pieces of work by planers and milling machines are' in many cases being done by grinders the work: held byas single large magnetic chuck..

The' construction of magnetic chucks suitable' for such heavier classes of work,- neces-l sitates increasing: the weight ci? the chuck` beyond that which can' be readily handled without the use oat special appliances for hoisting. or lifting intoi position and furthermore the initial oost o such a chuck is excessive.

To overcome the above objections,` I have designed for constructionl what l term a multiple unit chuck which is characterized by being capabi'e of being assembled from individual unit magnetic chucks whichare adopted to be readily coupled together and combined into one chuck of any size commensurate with the Work to be held. Each of the units ispreferably a complete ma netic chuck in itself and is provided in ad ition tothe usualV means-of clem-ping to a bed with other means whereby it may be combined for opera-tion in connection' with other units or sections to constitute a unitary magnetic chuck structure of lorger dimensions which ordinarily would be too heavy and cumbersome to be b a Workman without the use of hoisting app ionces. AThe units are adapted to be assembled for either vertical. or horizontal grinding, and are adapted to be alined and rigidly coupled to each other andv to be uncou-pled very quickly andl expeditiously.

Another feature of my improvement and one'which- I consider of importance resides in providing'. the individual magnetic chuck with a switch havin a witter-tight housimg, the switch hun e and cables passing ltlirough the walls o'f the housing making itherewith watertight joints. The advan- :tages of' this will be apparent whenfit-:is #understood that work which is'fsubjectfid dingv o rations frequently requires l coding wit water to reduce temperature. Such water finds its way to and through lthe ordinary switch casing resulting in inijury tothe insulating covering and possible i grounding burning out of the circuits. While any form of pole faces and air gaps lmay be used in the construction of the unijtary magnetic elements of my chuck, I pre- I fer and do use the form shown in the applilcation of Ralph C. Patton, Serial No. l 636,635,- filed- June 27 th, 1911. So much only lof the construction shown in the above ap- Iplication will be here shown and described l as will .be necessary to a. proper understandin'g of the present invention.

Y I have' shown, by way of example, one lform of my invention in the accompanying drawings which are designed merely for the urpose of illustration and not as limiting i he invention, reference being had to the :claims for this purpose.

l In the drawings .'-Figure 1 is a 'View in ielev'ation and broken section, showing 'the face of my multiple unit chuck built of the fsections or units. Fig, 2 is a perspective i view as seen from the rear of a single unit.. Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the i units with parts broken away to show details r of construction and to reduce the size of the igure. Fig. 4 is in part a horizontal sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, and in -pa-rt a plan view of the seme. 'F.ig. 5 is a rear elevational view showing the manner of extending the sections in two directions.

, Referring to Fig. l, I have shown therein a multiple unit chuck made up of three oblong rectangular faced units or sections l, 2, 3, each presenting a plurality of oblong pole extensions-4 of one polarity with their faces flush with the face plates 5 which are of opposite polarity and magnetically insu lated therefrom by air gaps filled with Babbitt metal or like material 6. The several units are alined before bolting together by and also by means of a key 9 which is adapt- ?ed to enter a groove in the bed plaie l0 `of the grinding machine, not shown.

means of dowel pins 7 entering sockets 8l In the example given, the units stand on edge with their longer dimension vertical, presenting ay polar surface for holding work on a vertical grinder. 'lhe preferred means for fastening the units together I have shown 1.11 detail in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Since cach 'unit chuck is the saine in construction, the description of one will serve for the others. 'llu` side walls of the unit cr section which may or may not be integral With the face wall are accurately trued to a rectangular shape and form a space for reception of the forked cores 11 which in the present instance are T-shaped but have four pole extensions, the shank of the T being adapted to receive an energizing coil 12. The number of the cores for each unit may vary according to the size of the unit. Five such cores have been indicated for each section though any other number may be used. Each core is separated from its companion by a transverse partition 13 which is preferably a projecting part of the face wall. The rear of this casing is preferably closed by a plate 14 which is made fast theretol and to the magnet cores by means of screws 15. This plate serves not only as a closure for the chuck casing but also as a support for 'the coupling means for securing the units together and to the base or berl of the machine on which the chuck is to be supported. To this end and for the purpose of securing rigidity and also economy of construction, a plurality of extension or bracket plates 16, 17 are provided. Three have been shown though four may be used. hese extensions may be separate pieces or may be integral and supported by plate 14 or by the frame of the chuck, but I prefer to construct and support them as illust-rated in Fig 2. Holes 18 are provided in plate 17 for receiving clamping bolts. The brackets 16, 16 are also provided with openings 19, 19, through which bolts may pass for building on other units to either or both brackets. To facilitate the forming of such additional units alining studs 7 are also provided. These studs are preferably separable from the brackets and are slipped into their sockets as occasion demands. A key 9 is also provided' which engages a recess in the casing and a corresponding recess in the bed plate, thus further assisting in alining the units when assembling them.

By reason of the construction thus far described, the unit chucks may be combined into a single chuck havlng a vertical working face extending horizontally in either direction and of a height that of a single unit by bolting together the brackets in t-he manner indicated. If a working face is desired having a height greater than that of a single unit, the side of the bracket 16 may be bolted to the bed plate and then other sections may be bolted to the plate 17 and the companion bracket 16 so as to extend the Ybrackets instead of three nosas?? block 22 may be used. thereby permitting access to the rear of the chuck for the insertion of straps through openings 19 to secure the units to the machine and also ettccting the coupling of the brackets. Current is supplied to the energizing coils of each unit through a switch 23 mounted on the plate 14 between the brackets, which latter scrve also for its protection. This switch as indicated above is characterized by having water-tight joints where the cable enters and where the switch handle appears as well as where the switch casing joms the wall 14. This water-proof construction is of peculiar importance in connection with a magnetic chuck because the heat developed in the operation of grinding the work held by the chuck'and that developed in the coils by passage of the electric current requires the use of water to flood the workand keep the temperature down. With a switch as heretofore constructed, water is extremely likely to enter the switch and cause a grounded circuit with disastrous results to the switch and windings of the chuck. With a switch rendered water-proof, such accidents cannot occur. This switch is further characterized by performing other functions, to wit, on one position of the handle the current is turned oli' and this is indicated on the switch by olf-position;

`in the next turn of the handle the current is momentarily reversed, thereby causing demagnetization of the polar surfaces. This position is marked De-Ma The third position of the handle cuts o the current and the work is then readily removed-from the holding face.

The wiring scheme is the usual series arrangement through all the coils and the switches.

It will be apparent that the working face of the multiple unit chuck may be extended both vertically and horizontally by using the construction having four extensions or extensions, as shown in Fig. 2.

What is claimed is:

1. A magnetic chuck unit for assembling with other chuck units into a multiple unit chuck comprising a work-holding face, a

chuck comprising a magnetic chuck frame, and means for securing one side of the same to a base and another side to the side of a second unit chuck.

3. A magnetic chuck unit for assembling with other units into a multiple unit chuck comprising a frame, bracket members eX- tending to the rear of the same adapted to support said frame vertically on one of its edges and to secure another edge to the edge of a second unit.

4. A magnetic chuck unit for assembling with other units into a multiple unit chuck, comprising a magnetic chuck frame, brackets extending to the rear of the same, two of which have finished supporting edges and openings for receiving means adapted to secure the chuck in a horizontal position or in vertical position and to other units on one or more sides of said frame.

5. A magnetic chuck unit for assembling with other units into a multiple unit chuck, comprising a rectangular magnetic chuck frame to which is secured a plate closing the rear end of the frame, said plate being provided with three bracket lat/es normal to the face of the chuck and ocated along three edges of said plate closure, said bracket plates having openings for receiving meansl adapted to fasten said frame in a vertical position or a horizontal position and to other units on one or more sides of said frame.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS W. DOWNES. Witnesses:

GEORGE W. SrEERE, K. E. GREENE. 

